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St. Andrews State Park,
submitted by Rob.
submit your
own!
I am from New Orleans,
Louisiana. For those of us who can't alway afford to make it to South
Florida, my family and I recommend St. Andrews State Park in Panama
City. There is a cove created by the jetty at the south east tip of the
park. There is never any surf or undertow and is very safe, not to
mention comfortable, for the smaller kids. The water is clear and the
depth ranges from the sand to about 5 or 6 feet. The marine life is
plentiful and varies greatley. Crumble a hotdog and they'll practically
eat out of your hands. It is one of the best snorkeling locations that
we've found on the Panhandle.
The urchins are almost gone, though ten years ago you had to watch where
you
stepped. There is lots of stuff left, though. Plenty of damsels,
blennies, pin fish, wrasses, schools of juvenile croaker, redfish,
pretty big needlefish, drum, some small species of grouper, rays, blue
fish, some spindly looking shrimp and many different fish that I can't
identify. I can't say that all of this stuff jumped out at me
every time I've gotten into the water, but there is always plenty there,
and the visibility isn't bad at all. The best thing I've found to
do is find a spot near the jetty wall that is just deep enough to
kneel down and just sit still. Lots of different school fish will pass
by and the reef fish will eventually go back to doing what they do like
you aren't even there.
On the Gulf side of the
jetty, while diving, we've seen some fairly big gulf rays, sharks,
guitarfish, amberjack, rock crabs, jack crevalle. I once, and only once,
saw a school of fish that I had mistaken for a clump of seaweed. My mask
was almost up in them before I recongnized them as fish. It is a state
park so there really isn't much fishing and I've never seen anyone spear
fishing there so the wildlife doesn't have much fear. There is also a
scuttled barge there that lies in only 20 feet of water in
the bay. I've never snorkeled it, but someone with advanced proficiency
might be able to. There is a boat service in the summer months that will
take you and your gear across the bay to Shell Island. More jetties
there and less visited,
but it is quite a hike from the boat landing.
St Andrews State Park
Website:
http://www.floridastateparks.org/standrews/default.cfm
Related:
Florida Snorkeling
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